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Brand names that don't export well.

We've been discussing brand names that don't export well on adlist this week. Some things can have names that people in other countries may misunderstand. It all began with this can above.

To which I exclaimed "personally I'm simply horrified that it comes in a can and is microwavable." but UK adlisters assured me that it's actually pretty decent. American and other adlisters meanwhile, were rolling on the floor laughing.

The UK does have a few of these not possible for US export food gems, such as:

But really, Americans aren't much better I mean they serve:

And lets not forget the Swedes who brought us the giggletastic classic "plopp" which makes everey UKer I know fall into gigglefits. It's a small chocolate bar with a creamy caramel center, obviously.

Snickering aside. There's a serious side to brand names that don't export well. Take for example the Australian brand Coon. If you sold this in the United states, you bet people would be offended, but in Australia Coon isn't a slur* - in fact it's the last name of Edward William Coon who founded the company.
* see comments, it appears I was incorrect. Apologies.

This brings us to "Darkie" toothpaste over in China. The Wikipedia tells us how the name evolved from Darkie to Darlie after the 1985 merger with US corporation Colgate-Palmolive.
However, the Chinese name of the brand, "黑人牙膏" (in English, "Black Man Toothpaste"), has not changed; a Chinese-language advertising campaign reassured customers that "Black Man Toothpaste is still Black Man Toothpaste". This is because the term "黑人" does not have any negative meaning in Chinese. The phrase 黑人(hēi rén) in Chinese is a general term for persons of African descent. The wiki explains: "Because of the contrast with very dark skin, it was a common perception that the teeth of people of African descent were exceptionally white." White teeth is what we all want from a toothpaste and looking at it from that point of view, it makes sense but obviously wouldn't sell well in any country with a more mixed population.

I can't explain this name at all. I don't know what it is. I don't think that I'd ever dare to eat it. That has got to be the shittiest brand name in the world.

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to eat some of my snacks and try not to giggle when I misread the name on this bag for the umptebillionth time.

There's a good example of a Spanish product that wouldn't translate well to the Portuguese market, although they tried do enter it. I'll translate the meaning (apologies for the language I'm about to use).

The product, a line of ready made meals, is called in Spanish "La Broche de la Pila", which in Portuguese means "Blowjob of the Dick"!

** The Preston and Steve Show, which also boasts an ice cream named after a catch-phrase of theirs: Gadzooks! (and now Gadzooks! Blanc), which they devised and is produced by Bassetts Ice Cream, and distributed locally by WaWa.

Negative. Kuk is slang (much like cock) but for it to be "in mouth" you'd need Kukimun. "I" is "in" but dent is nothing, well except "dent" in english and if you add an "e" it'll be tooth/teeth in Italian.

We've seen the Shitto Sauce on TV, in an interview years ago with somebody who collects this sort of thing. It's a kind of meat sauce, and looks pretty much like the name suggests. It was served with Pee Cola, which comes from the same country (Uganda, I think).

I recently bought the book Shelf Life by Rosie Walford, which I can recommend most heartily.

This post gave me a good chuckle, it is so true. When I am doing my weekly grocery shopping it seems I always go down the aisle that has a few cans of spotted dick on the shelf. This seems to add a bit of humor to my day.

For the record, this is not correct. Over here, "coon" is used as a derogatory term for Aboriginals. A few years ago we heard of an Aboriginal activist who tried (unsuccessfully) to get Kraft to change the name of their cheese...

I was in Fuldar Germany and saw a car dealership Assmanshausen which I thought was hysterical untill I came to Minnesota where I found Kuntz Chevy/Buick of Coon Rapids. What is it with car sales that makes you have to have the worst names?